Novak Djokovic gets the better of Aslan Karatsev 6-3 6-4 6-2 in the semifinal in Melbourne on Thursday. As per predictions, there was virtually no match as the world no.1 was just too strong for the Russian qualifier. Novak will face either Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
Novak won this tournament 8 times in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020.
Djokovic added to his prize money $ 650,000 after conquering this match. He has won already $ 1,500,000 after this win. If he wins the next match, the Serbian will add $ 1,250,000 to his earnings to get in total $ 2,750,000 in total.
Injury-free
Djokovic was delighted about the match and the fact that he had no issue with hi abdominal injury. The world no.1 had huge issues in the 3rd round when facing Taylor Fritz. Eventually, he managed to go through the match and win the contest in 5 sets. He commented:
“This is the best I’ve felt in the entire tournament. I could swing through the ball. No pain. The best match so far.”
Highlights Novak Djokovic vs. Aslan Karatsev Australian Open – Melbourne
Djokovic’s Interview
Stats: aces, double faults, breaks, winners
1h:53
After this match, the head to head between Djokovic and Karatsev is 1-0 for Novak.
Live score progression and stats
The set was even with both players refusing to concede anything to the opposition. Eventually, the only discrepancy was one break that Djokovic grabbed in the 8th game (5-3) just before finally conquering the set (6-3).
Novak was clinical in converting the only break point that he conquered in the 8th game (4-3 0-40). On the other side, the Serbian didn’t concede a single break point during this set.
They played 46 points. Djokovic conquered the set after winning 12 more points than Aslan (29-17). Novak conceded 5 points on serve (20-5). on the other side of the court, the Russian conceded 9 points on serve (12-9).
The Serbian won the set after he broke Karatsev in the 3rd (2-1) and in the 5th (4-1) game. Aslan tried to stage a comeback breaking in the 8th (5-3) game. Anyhow, the Serbian refused to give way to win the set 6-4.
There was a pivotal moment in this set when Djokovic won 5 consecutive games in the 2nd set so as to bring the scoreline from 0-1 to 5-1.
Djokovic was exemplary in converting all his break points in the 3rd (1-1 0-40) and the 5th game (3-1 0-40). On the other side, Aslan converted 25% of his break points (1/4). He had his opportunities in the 8th (2-5 30-40 and 40-A) and the 10th game (4-5 40-A and 40-A).
They played 60 points. Novak was the winner of the set after clinching 8 points more than Karatsev (34-26). Djokovic conceded 13 points on serve (22-13). On the other side, the Russian conceded 12 points on serve (13-12).
Djokovic conquered a leading position at the beginning of the set after breaking in the 1st game (1-0). Notwithstanding, there was more to do for the Serbian to win the set because the Russian found the way to break back in the 4th (2-2) game. Djokovic kept his cool to break the Russian in the 5th (3-2) and in the 7th (5-2) game before conquering the set (6-2).
The Russian was unable to find the solution against the opposition in the last 4 games of the set when the score went from 2-2 to 6-2.
Novak converted 75% of his break points (3/4). He had 4 break points opportunities in the 1st (0-0 0-40 and 15-40), the 4th (2-2 15-40) and the 7th game (4-2 30-40). On the other side, the Russian was clinical in converting the only break point that he conquered in the 4th game (1-2 15-40).
They played 41 points. Novak was the winner of the set after clinching 9 more points than the Russian (25-16). Djokovic surrendered 8 points on serve (13-8). On the losing side, Aslan conceded 12 points on serve (8-12).
Tennis Scores at the Australian Open
- Novak DjokovicDjokovic – Aslan KaratsevKaratsev (6-3 6-4 6-2) – Stats and score progression
Upcoming matches
- Daniil MedvedevMedvedev – Stefanos TsitsipasTsitsipas (5-1) – H2H details and stats
